THROWBACK: The most iconic events in the World Wide Web's history

Dubai - Here are what shaped up the technology that has changed the course of the world

Happy, happy 25th birthday, World Wide Web.
Gosh, it's already been that long that the Web has done all sorts of things for us.
Some weeks ago we peeked at how some of the Internet's first Web pages looked like. This time, let's take a look at the most iconic things on the Web that have transpired over the past two-and-a-half decades.
 
1989
. The World Wide Web is born as a CERN project called ENQUIRE. Other names considered "The Information Mesh" and "Mine of Information"; both were shot down because the former abbreviates to Berners-Lee's first name and the latter because it abbreviates to "MOI", meaning "me" in French.
. AOL (yes, that AOL) rolls out Instant Messenger service. You know the iconic "You've got mail!" thingy? That was what greeted users on the service back then.

Seriously, it kinda-sorta sounded like "mayo". Mayonnaise was arguably better back then.
Anyway, back to what we're here for.
 
1990
. The world's first website and server go online at CERN, running on Berners-Lee's NeXT computer, which had the message, "This machine is a server. DO NOT POWER DOWN!" He would also develop the first Web browser, WorldWideWeb.
. The first tool used to search the Internet, Archie, was developed McGill University student Alan Emtage.

. By now, 42 per cent of American adults have used a computer.
 
1991
. Remember this?

That's the Trojan Room coffee pot, shot live by some thirsty researchers from their computer screens so they can find out when a fresh brew has been done. It was later connected to the Internet and would become the world's first webcam.
 
1992
. The term "surfing the Internet" was coined, popularised and began spreading like wildfire.
. The first photo is uploaded on the Internet. The image of parody comedy group Les Horribles Cernettes was taken by CERN IT developer Silvano de Gennaro and posted by Berners-Lee. The "promotional" shot shows the members in 1950s-style outfits just before they stepped out on stage at the Hardronic Music Festival.

Probably the group's biggest claim to fame? They're the "first band on the Web".
. The line-mode Web browser is launched.

If you actually miss using command prompts, you can try out the actual original one here.
 
1993
. CERN finally puts its WWW technology in the public domain, essentially donating it to humanity and changing us forever.
. Mosaic 1.0, the first Web browser to become popular with the public, is released by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

Wired would later write about it: "With it, the Web as we know it begins to flourish". Boy, did it ever.
Eventually, the New York Times would also chime in about Mosaic: "Think of it as a map to the buried treasures of the Information Age". Again, was it ever.
. Marc Andreesen proposes that the "IMG HTML" tag to allow images to be displayed on the Web.
 
1994
. The Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press writes that 11 million American households are "equipped to ride the information superhighway".
. The White House, under then-president Bill Clinton, comes online.

It still actually works.
. Yahoo! is born. We all know what that is.

. Hotwired.com's first banner ad appears on October 27. And it's really enticing:

. The first massive commercial spam message - the notorious "Green Card Spam" - is released by two lawyers to an ungrateful nation. You could say it was the spam that started it all.
. One of the first known Web purchases was consummated on Pizza Hut's portal.

The order? Pepperoni with mushrooms and extra cheese. Yum.
 
1995
. By now, 18 million American homes are connected, but only three per cent of those online have ever signed on to the Web.
. Amazon.com opens for business as "Earth's Biggest Bookstore".

. Craigslist is born, originally an e-mail list of events in San Francisco.

. Match.com, the first online dating site, is launched. Founder Gary Kremen left two years later with only $50,000.
. Pierre Omidyar launches eBay, originally named AuctionWeb.

The first item listed? A broken laser pointer, which sold for $14.83 ($23.42 in today's dollars).
. Twenty-four-year-old hacker Chris Lamprecht becomes the first person to be banned from the Internet. Why? Because of money laundering. He was sentenced to 70 months and was given no access to the Internet until 2004.
. Microsoft releases Windows 95, as well as the first version of Internet Explorer.

 
1996
. At this point in time, 77 per cent of online users send or receive e-mail at least once every few weeks, up from 65 per cent in 1995. Compare that to what you receive in a minute today.
. The Nokia 9000 Communicator is unveiled, the first cellular phone with Internet capabilities.

. Hotmail, one of the first Web mail services, is launched, derived from HTML.

. Who says "viral" was only viral recently? Remember the Dancing Baby?

Yep, that's one of the world's first viral videos. You're welcome.
 
1997
. One of today's Internet powerhouses, Google, registers as a domain.

. Netflix is launched as a company that sends DVDs to homes through mail.

. Jorn Barger becomes the first person to use the term "Weblog" to describe the list of links on his website.
 
1998
. News becoming more social as 20 per cent of Americans get news from the Internet at least once a week, up from four per cent in 1995.

. AOL 4.0 is launched, and the company begins to annoy homes with CD-ROM mailers. Membership, though, doubles from eight million to 16 million, thanks to this carpet-bombing scheme.
. Oxford Dictionary adds "applet", "bloatware", "cypherpunk", "digerati", "geek", "hunt and peck", "infobahn", "palmtop", "phreaking", "snail mail" and, most importantly, "spam" to its arsenal.
 
1999
. Pew Research Center tests online polling - and gets mixed results.

. By now, 41 per cent of adults are using the Internet. The most popular online news attraction? The weather.

. MP3 downloading site Napster is launched, overloading high-speed networks in college dormitories. Gets kicked out by many schools and is later shut down for illegal sharing of music files.
 
2000
. Seems more are getting hooked to the 'Net: 43 per cent of users say they would miss going online compared to 32 per cent in 1995.
. And even more are hooked to music via the Web: 78 per cent of users who download music don't think it's stealing to save music files on their hard drives.
. Even online retail is growing: 40 million Americans, or 48 per cent of Internet users, have purchased something on the Web.
. Why, even e-cards are gaining traction: 32 per cent of users, or over 30 million people, sent e-greeting cards.
. Here we go with the dot-com bust: The Nasdaq hits a record high of 5,048.62 before crashing back to Earth by 78 per cent on March 10. A 2001 survey showed that 71 per cent of Americans who had heard about the dot-com troubles believe a major cause of it is that investors were eager to make a lot of money and took a lot of risks.
. AOL buys Time Warner for $165 billion. The New York Times says "it could be that the Internet companies that do the buying and the old media that sell out".
 
2001
. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, only three per cent of Internet users say they got most of their information on it from the Web.
. The average Internet user spends 83 minutes online. Wonder how that compares today.
. Wikipedia launched by Jimmy Wales, and over 20,000 entries are written in the first year.

 
2002
. Remember Friendster? You should; it was launched this year, but you'll find out quite soon what happened to it.

. Microsoft launches Xbox Live, its multiplayer gaming service. Critics, though, scoffed at the idea, citing how uncommon broadband connections were at that time.
. By now, 55 million people go online from work and 44 per cent of those who have access to the Web at work say their use of the Internet helps them do their jobs.
 
2003
. Apple launches iTunes, with more than 200,000 songs sold at 99¢ each. One million tracks sell in its first week, and the rest is history.

. Skype is rolled out and quickly becomes a verb: "Skype me!"

. LinkedIn is launched.

. MySpace comes to fruition.

. WordPress blog publishing system is created.

 
2004
. Some Harvard dude named Mark Zuckerberg launches thefacebook.com. We all know what that is. RIP, Friendster.

. Mozilla launches Firefox 1.0

 
2005
. Eight per cent of adult Americans say they participate in sports fantasy leagues online.
. Broadband connections surpass dial-up connections. Finally.
. Community news site Reddit is founded.

. About one in six online adults - or about 25 million people - have sold something online.
. YouTube is launched on Valentine's Day.

And here's the first video, on what's so cool about elephants:

 
2006
. Google acquires YouTube for $1.65 billion. The latter's founders, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, simply announce it in parking lot video: "The king of search and the king of video have gotten together."

. Twitter is launched. Founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet:

 
2007
. Thirty-six per cent of American adults consult Wikipedia.
. Apple launches the original iPhone; $499 for 4GB (4GB!) and $599 for 8GB.

. Estonia becomes first nation to use Internet voting in parliamentary elections.
 
2008
. Google launches its Chrome Web browser.

. Apple launches the App Store with 552 applications.

. Daily-deal site Groupon comes to life.
 
2009
. Microsoft's Bing search engine launched. "Home Sweet Homepage".

. Unknowns become knowns: Viral videos like "David After Dentist", "Susan Boyle", "Baby Dancing to Beyonce" and "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" launch ordinary people into newfound Internet stardom.

 
2010
. Thirty-five per cent of adults have mobile phones with apps, but only two-thirds use them.
. Instagram and Pinterest are launched.
 
2011
. Microsoft buys Skype for $8.5 billion.
. Google+ is launched.
 
2012
. Sixty-six per cent of Internet users use Facebook and 12 per cent use Instagram.
. Facebook's active users hit the one billion mark; some analysts call it "Facebookistan". Social media giant acquires Instagram for $1 billion.
. South Korean pop star PSY's Gangnam Style video pips Justin Bieber's Baby as most-watched video on YouTube. (You remember this, right?)

. E-commerce sales top $1 trillion globally.
. The Internet Society launches the Internet Hall of Fame to "celebrate people who bring the Internet to life".
 
2013
. At this point in time, majority (56 per cent) of Americans now own a smartphone of some kind.
. The Edward Snowden saga begins.
. Apple's App Store downloads surpass 40 billion; 20 billion in 2012 alone.
 
2014
. Forty-five per cent of Internet users in the 18-29 age group in serious relationships say the Internet has had an impact on their relationship.
. Facebook buys WhatsApp for a whopping $19 billion.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com